Alpha 2 Day 7: Downwind Sailing To Jost Van Dyke

written by Mate-In-Training, Andrew Dyer
July 15, 2017

Day seven dawned like any other morning in the Caribbean, with a cool salt breeze, a warm sun, and the ever present air of contentedness. After following the usual routine, of breakfast and clean up, the divers were sent on their way. Not long after the divers left, the rest of us went ashore to Salt Island. With garbage bags in hand, we were given a talk about the importance of keeping a clean marine environment, and we began our thorough scouring of the beach. With our bags proudly full of the trash that we found, we headed back to boats for lunch with the returned divers.

As the last dish from lunch was being dried and put away, pre-departure checks began, and within minutes we were all in position to drop the ball. Mooring ball dropped and we headed out into the channel for some lessons as we sailed to our final destination for the day. The main lesson of the sail was concerned with down wind sailing, and the dangers and thus responsibilities that come with it. As Salt receded further astern and we settled into the wind, dark rain clouds brought out our rain jackets. Practicing knots and quizzing each other on points of sail, the journey passed by with ease.

Arriving at Little Harbor, Jost Van Dyke as the sun scolded away the pesky rain clouds, we were able to shower with the last warm rays to dry us. All aboard were buzzing with anticipation for our dinner ashore at Sydney’s Peace and Love. Next to the restaurant stands a couple T-shirt shops ready to serve our appetite for island swag. With our new purchases proudly adorned or carefully tucked away, we dug into the BBQ, coleslaw, rice and mac n’ cheese provided for us by the restaurant. Our bellies full, we headed back to boats for boat meeting, the one part of the day dedicated to reflection. And day seven like any other day in the Caribbean ended with a cool salt breeze, a glowing moon, and an ever present feeling of contentedness.